Saturday, April 28, 2012

Keiser Report 281 / Fire! Economy, Revolving doors & May Day Origins

submitted by Gabrielle Price

In this episode, Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert discuss how shouting 'fire!' in a crowded economy may be the only thing left to save us from our unpayable debts and, failing that, Barack Obama's 'revolving door' could be another GDP booster. In the second half of the show Max talks to David Graeber, author of Debt: The First 5000 Years, about weaponized debt and the origins of May Day.



 

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Keiser Report / Episode 278 Holographic Economy

submitted by Gabrielle Price

In this episode, Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert discuss Dr Bernanke's hologram and his real tsunami of money. In the second half of the show Max talks to Alec Empire of Atari Teenage Riot about copyright, Anonymous and free speech and the armed government goons sent to shakedown grannies.



Friday, April 20, 2012

Karma Kodak Moment 4/20/12

submitted by Gabrielle Price

You can't buy a better door stop for that price.

Perhaps this is her karma for banning books?


OWS Week 4/19/12 - Occupy Marines, Occupy Wisconsin, May Day

This episode of the show looks at the US veterans' contribution to the 99ers and their participation in the movement.

It contains an exclusive statement from Occupy Marines made by both active duty and off duty soldiers. It also contains a review of the week actions including the Bank of America protests and arrests in New York and Washington.

The final segment includes preparations for the Mayday protests in which more than 40 Occupy groups are getting ready to take part in alongside dozens of workers.





TRC is run solely on donations from patrons via PayPal. If you enjoy TRC's work, please consider donating. Any amount is generous. Receipt will read The Road Home, Inc. Thank you!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Keiser Report / Episode 277 w/Rolling Stone's Matt Tiabbi

submitted by Gabrielle Price

In this episode, Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert discuss huddles and cuddles with the Goombahs of Wall Street and the technical violations that cannot be called by name. In the second half of the show Max talks to Rolling Stone journalist, Matt Taibbi, about the Wall Street mafia, their small and big time rackets and the process of writing these crime stories for a wide audience.

US Supreme Court's Sotomayor agrees : Organizations are not people

submitted by Gabrielle Price 
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that organizations cannot be sued for the torture under the Torture Victim Protection Act.
The decision came in the case of Azzam Mohamad Rahim, who immigrated to the United States in the 1970s and became a U.S. citizen. In 1995, while on a visit to his home village on the West Bank, he was taken into custody by Palestinian Authority intelligence officers; in the following days, he was allegedly imprisoned, tortured, and killed. The U.S. State Department issued a report classifying Rahim's death as an extra-judicial killing, while in the custody of the Palestinian Authority.
Rahim's American family, filed suit against the Palestinian Authority and the PLO under the Torture Victim Protection Act, which authorizes lawsuits against "individuals" who commit acts of torture. The family argued that Congress intended the word "individual" to cover organizations.
But Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for the court, rejected that argument as "unpersuasive."
"No one, we hazard to guess, refers in normal parlance to an organization as an 'individual,'" Sotomayor said, and there was no indication that Congress intended otherwise.
Hmm, so organizations [i.e. corporations] are NOT individuals, Judge Sotomayor?  You might want to tell Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney this bit of news -- as well as the very well organized movement called Move to Amend, oh, and several states, including more recently Vermont who have already moved to amend the constitution which states that corporations are indeed, considered individuals.
The notorious 1886 case of Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad is just one in a long series of Supreme Court cases that entrenched "corporate personhood" in law. Justices since have struck down hundreds of local, state and federal laws enacted to protect people from corporate harm based on this illegitimate premise. Armed with these "rights," corporations wield ever-increasing control over jobs, natural assets, politicians, even judges and the law.


The American people roundly reject this archaic notion and we are glad to hear that Judge Sotomayor agrees with us -- or does she?  This is a mixed message and one that must be clarified by working to overturn one of the oldest Supreme Court rulings.  One that clearly only serves to marginalize the rights of We The People, including the soldiers who take a blood oath to protect the Constitution -- NOT CORPORATIONS OR ORGANIZATIONS.


This is dangerous territory -- not only does this archaic law state that corporations are people, giving the 1% free reign to spend and lobby for their own interests, now according to Judge Sotomayor, a corporation could torture a REAL individual.  And the Supreme Court just gave them a 'get out of jail free card' for doing so.

Keep this in mind when you think of the banks and corporations who have built the prison industrial complex and indefinite detention under the NDAA.  George Orwell is speaking to us from the grave -- and we had better listen -- and make our elected officials listen when the people say, "WE will not compromise."


OCCUPY the Move to Amend movement that is growing across the country -- sign the petition, then start a ballot initiative in your state before November if your state has not yet done so.

Find the rest of the NPR article here: Organizations Can't Be Sued For Torture, High Court Rules



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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

The World Tomorrow / Episode One

submitted by Gabrielle Price

Before you watch this first installment of RT's The World Tomorrow with Julian Assange, I would like to share with all our readers - globally - what the response was to this show with the following excerpt by one of the largest US [and once esteemed] publications.


"It’s like the Voice of America, only with more money and a zesty anti-American slant.  A few correspondents can sound at times like Boris and Natasha of “Rocky & Bullwinkle” fame.  Basically, it’s an improbable platform for a man who poses as a radical left-wing whistleblower and free-speech frondeur battling the superpowers that be."  Feel free to read the rest of NYT's drivel here.

For the savvy TRC readers who know that NYT is a US propaganda rag -- we present the first episode of Julian Assange's "The World Tomorrow" -- in hopes of a better one.  As for us in US independent and citizen media: please know that the work you do is worth 10 NYTimes, now that it has behaved like a butthurt crybaby for the world to see.  It is losing it's credibility -- like Hillary Clinton and the US 'war on information'.  [Coincidentally, RT was one of several outlets on Hillary's blacklist.  I'm doubly pleased to share it.]

Just like banned books -- the best and most enlightening information is always banned information.  The US media being butthurt is just the bonus.  We'll continue to share the best alternative news sources we can find at TRC because the people deserve better.  WE deserve choices, not a corporate cacophony of squawking parrots and their plastic info bimbos. 


Monday, April 16, 2012

Surveillance cameras capture incredible tornado damage

submitted by Gabrielle Price

Having grown up in the Midwest and knowing how to prepare for severe weather and tornadoes was part and parcel of the Midwest experience.  But with the effects of severe climate change in the past few years, the frequency and the strength of these storms has been alarming to say the least.

This surveillance camera footage shows several angles of the destruction from one of a reported 95 tornadoes in the Plains region of the United States.  In all my years as a photographer and former storm chaser -- I've never seen footage like this.  I had to post it.

Please help those who are affected by these storms by looking up any of the cities listed below the video.
I'm quite certain there will be a lot of Red Cross and local aid organizations set up to help since our Federal Government is ill equipped to handle this kind of destruction -- the economy is tanking under their watch while denying climate science to boot.  Mother nature is in charge now.  Heed her warnings when weather services issue them.




[Footage stops at 6:50 where the camera remains stuck.]

Tornado producing storms ravaged parts of the Plains Saturday and Saturday night, killing at least five people and leaving behind incredible destruction.

According to the Storm Prediction Center, more than 95 tornadoes were reported from Oklahoma through Kansas, Nebraska and southern Iowa on Saturday.

The deadliest of the tornadoes ravaged the town of Woodward, OK, where at least five people were killed and 30 injured.

The tornado ripped through the northwest side of the city, destroying or damaging dozens of homes.

Another tornado tore through the southern portion of Wichita, KS, causing significant damage but no major injuries.

Wichita, Mid-Continent Airport recorded a wind gust of 84 mph just after the control tower evacuated.

Damage was recorded at the Boeing and Spirit Aerosystems plants. Six buildings at Spirit Aerosystems were heavily damaged while four others had major damage.

According to the Kansas City Star, damage in the Wichita area is estimated at as much as $283 million.

A tornado ripped through the town of Thurman, IA, Saturday evening, destroying around 75 percent of the town.

Amazingly, no major injuries were reported, but the remainder of the town is without power and has been evacuated until further notice.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Saturday Refreshment / Thought ~ by Walt Whitman

Of persons arrived at high positions, ceremonies, wealth,
scholarships, and the like:
(To me all that those persons have arrived at
sinks away from them, except as it results to their
bodies and souls,
So that often to me they appear gaunt and naked,
And often to me each one of them mocks the others, and mocks
himself or herself,
And of each one the core of life, namely happiness, is full 
of the rotten excrement of maggots,
And often to me those men and women pass unwittingly
the true realities of life, and go toward false realities,
And often to me they are alive after what custom has served them,
but nothing more,
And often to me they are sad, hasty, unwaked sonnambules
walking the dusk.)

from Leaves of Grass, 1891-92 Edition

Friday, April 13, 2012

This Is What Democracy Looks Like / Iceland Debt Jubilee

submitted by Gabrielle Price

I don't have to wonder why we don't hear about this in the US mainstream media. ~ GP

The government of Iceland has forgiven the mortgage debt for much of its population. This nation chose a very different way of stopping the crisis from the rest of European countries. It decided to hear the requests of the population and to put politicians and bankers on the bench of the accused three years after their financial excesses would sink one of the most prosperous economies in 2008.

Pay It Forward Through Music / Hell Bent by Kenna

submitted by Gabrielle Price

I started a music project back in 2008 called The Road Home.  Our motto was 'pay it forward through music' - which I aimed to do for two national music charities.  The economy took its toll on my grassroots project and it has been on the backburner, waiting to be reborn with the net radio station along with The Refreshment Center - News You Can Use broadcasts.

Music and the arts alone have their own profound messages to be paid forward and as a lover and music appreciator I want to continue to do that where I can.  So I present this wonderful song by Kenna, "Hell Bent" - with one of the more amazing videos I've ever seen that shows so well how our infinite growth society has bought and sold our happiness.  

Hold on to your bliss.  We have a long way to go yet.


Kenna - Hell Bent by Kenna

If you would like TRC to reach it's goal of providing "News You Can Use" as well as "Paying It Forward Through Music" - please consider a Paypal gift or a purchase in our Lobby or Photo Gallery.  Thank you.

Sacred Economics - A Short Film

submitted by Gabrielle Price

Thursday, April 12, 2012

OWS Week 4/11/12, Occupy DC/DC Now, Chicago Spring, Florida protests

Press TV's new program; 'OWS Week' highlights 7 days of the protest movement's happenings as viewed from American protesters' eyes.

The program also examines the wide range of social issues addressed by the 'occupy' movement in the US.

This episode of the show covers a range of actions across America. They included the Occupy DC/DC Now; a protest march in Washington against student fee hikes.

Thousands of 99ers joined the transit Union workers in 20 US cities including New York and Boston.

The Chicago Spring rallies against social, economic and political injustices were called to "educate, inspire and unite."

And in Tampa Florida protests hit the "State of the City 2012" mayoral address against the coming Republican National Convention and the draconian laws proposed for the event.




TRC is run solely on donations from patrons via PayPal. If you enjoy TRC's work, please consider donating. Any amount is generous. Receipt will read The Road Home, Inc. Thank you!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Disaster Capitalism Isn't Racist ~ It Hates Everybody


The current capitalist mindset is that many want to believe that 'business as usual' is a good thing, growth without regulation is a good thing -- but at what moral cost?  Not just outwardly but our own moral code.

We are all learning that a lot of rich people are unethical -- but the dots not getting connected in this day of 'free market/disaster capitalism' is that people become rich by BEING unethical.  This system makes more by destroying, robbing, defrauding and marginalizing everyone. Me, you, your wife, husband, daughter, son...and it will be far, far worse for their kids if we ignore it. No matter what color you are.

There is no honor to be salvaged from this system.  Americans need to break ties in this co-dependent relationship with an abuser.  And stop defending it and apologizing for it because it DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU.  I know it comes back and says nice things but that's what abusers do -- lulling you into a false sense of security before it snatches your pension, your healthcare, or takes your house.  No matter what color you are.

And by defending the abuser, it has made a society not just financially but morally bankrupt.  Ready to sell our own souls, sell out our own neighbors, wives/mothers/sisters, our children to be what?  Part of the 1%?  Part of a cacophony of paid parrots?  What are we, trained monkeys pulling levers for an 'atta boy' moment of fleeting bottom-feeding jocularity?  Or are we really as delusional as Steinbeck described -- a country of 'temporarily embarrassed millionaires' -- no matter what color we are?

What happened to standing tall and proud of being from this country?  I'll tell you what happened -- our backs are hunched over trying to prop up a free market dead corpse with a flag in its hand.  It's not one man's fault.  It is the entire system -- the entire two-party corporate  Frankenstein that we've created has run loose through our country, our media, our workplace, our environment, our homes -- I have seen people who have been neighbors for decades that can barely talk to each other today.  Even people of the same color.

I personally think that many good people, both religious and secular are embarrassed by the Uncle Sam monster -- the giant, lumbering, senile, oil addict that we no longer invite to parties or conversation -- we pity it because we want it to stop stealing and molesting and abusing -- we still love it because of what it once represented in us.  Now a shell of it's former self, it is having a nervous breakdown -- it's time to move forward and quit encouraging the pity party.

People make a rule in some cases to refrain from speaking about politics and religion altogether before gathering -- just to avoid the ugliness of discourse that seems to be rehashed every week of perpetual campaigning.  Aren't we sick of it?  Aren't we better than those political poo-flinging, rich dolts who have their speeches written FOR them?  The people who gather with this rule in place are able to enjoy themselves -- but the system doesn't want us to behave civilly with one another.  It prefers we abuse each other the way it abuses us.  No matter what color we are.

NOW they have us arguing with each other about basic things that we all should have learned in kindergarten!  Media asking us to believe that the law doesn't work for all Americans -- only white ones?  I mean, C'MON!  An American is an American.  Soldiers of all colors, creeds and denominations fight for ALL OF US.  No matter what color, creed or denomination YOU are, they take an oath to defend YOUR constitutional rights -- not to defend politicians and media who would demean any soldier of color [and sex, I might add], so why ARE YOU participating in such UnAmerican hooey?!

If you say you support our troops -- does that mean only some of them?  Only black soldiers or white soldiers?  Does that mean you only think that some parts of the Constitution apply or are worth dying for?  I can't imagine any soldier taking a half-assed oath like that when it means possible loss of life, not just the liberty it affords us ALL to enjoy.  The only reason media spews the poison it spews is because they do it from on high, from a place of moneyed safety.  The owners of this system laugh while they watch us scramble and pick each other apart like pawns in some sick Roman game.  Mainstream media has offended and dishonored the place that was given to them by the Constitution.  They are paid poo flinging monkeys, just like politicians.  NO MATTER WHAT COLOR THEY ARE.

Why would you spew their garbage?  You aren't paid to do the bidding of the 1%, are you?

So I ask, what if Zimmerman had shot a different man in a hoodie -- a black soldier home from leave?  Do you still think he would have 'stood down' when the cops told him 'not to pursue'?  No, because it is the hoodie that would have kept his identity hidden from view -- it could have been anyone under that hoodie.  Zimmerman knew he was black...what other reason was given by him to pursue?

So, would we be talking about whether an unarmed soldier had problems in school, or if he looked like Michael Jackson compared to a different profile pic he didn't like maybe?  We've all taken bad ID pics -- a few of mine don't look a damn thing like me.  

I saw the video of Zimmerman being brought in.  He claimed his nose was broken.  He lied.
Ask anyone who has had their nose broken or has seen one.  His shirt would have been soaked with blood and he would have been taken to a hospital.

I mean, really, if you want to nitpick about non-issues and avoid the larger picture -- that an UNARMED YOUNG AMERICAN DIED -- and think those non-issues have bearing on any actual critical investigation -- you're either A) a fucking racist or B) you are brainwashed by watching racist propaganda.

Here's the kicker -- no one can tell those things apart.  

We're better than this system -- we are NOT the system.  We are not robots or borgs, so please stop behaving like you don't have a bit of sense to call your own -- because you DO. 

I used to think the worst curse word in the English language was cunt.  Right now, it pains me to think that word is too good for Americans -- we lack the depth and the warmth that word implies.  I no longer have pity for the The Uncle Sam monster or his old, pruned-faced, Jim Crow cheerleaders that should have retired after the cold war ended.


Yes.  The cold war is over.  Uncle Sam is still addicted to that, too.  If you get between him and the last of the oil that is running out, question his actions or exercise your right to free assembly -- he'll bully you and call you a terrorist.  He's a dangerous, senile junkie who has been strung out by the 1%.  He might even throw you in jail or shoot you if you piss him off.  I don't know if he can be rehabilitated...but I do know that if Americans don't get their collective shit together, he will take us all off a cliff with him.  No matter what color we are.

Disaster capitalism is an equal opportunity abuser.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Who Am I To Farm? Excerpt from The Permaculture Handbook

"The emergence of garden farms is at hand. Under the pressure of necessity as unemployment rippled through the economy, millions of North Americans turned to gardening or expanded their gardens in 2009 as evidenced by a 40% increase in vegetable seed sales.  Urban homesteading is spawning its own literature as energy descent forces more and more households to adapt in place.  With income constrained and energy and materials shortages looming, the only resources capable of filling the gap in livelihood are imagination, information, and knowledge, in particular a deeper understanding of the material cycles and energy flows of nature.  For that understanding, we look to permaculture, a language derived from the patterns of the world around us." 

Read more about Peter's new book just uploaded at Permaculture Activist. 

Who Am I to Farm?
by Peter Bane
from issue #82, GROWING STAPLE CROPS • NOVEMBER 2011, excerpted from Peter's new book: The Permaculture Handbook: Garden Farming for Town and Country.

Why Obama's JOBS Act Couldn't Suck Worse

via Rolling Stone -- Matt Tiabbi / The Tiabblog


[Sounds like Matt is wide awake now.  I am relieved.  Welcome to the Obama Hangover Cafe, buddy.  We're glad to have you. ~ Gabrielle]


"Boy, do I feel like an idiot.  I've been out there on radio and TV in the last few months saying that I thought there was a chance Barack Obama was listening to the popular anger against Wall Street that drove the Occupy movement, that decisions like putting a for-real law enforcement guy like New York AG Eric Schneiderman in charge of a mortgage fraud task force meant he was at least willing to pay lip service to public outrage against the banks.

Then the JOBS Act happened.

The "Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act" (in addition to everything else, the Act has an annoying, redundant title) will very nearly legalize fraud in the stock market."

Read more: Why Obama's JOBS Act Couldn't Suck Worse | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone

Monday, April 9, 2012

Obama Administration Silencing Pakistani Drone-Strike Lawyer

via Common Dreams

By refusing to grant Shahzad Akbar a visa to speak at the Summit, the Obama administration is further silencing discussion about the impact of its targeted killing program on people in Pakistan and around the world.” -- Leili Kashani, Center for Constitutional Rights

“The Obama administration has already launched six times as many drone strikes as the Bush administration in Pakistan alone, killing hundreds of innocent people and devastating families,” said Leili Kashani, Advocacy Program Manager at the Center for Constitutional Rights, one of Summit sponsors. 

Time Warp: Seventies Protest Film, "The Way The Eagle Sh*ts"

[...I fucking love the internet. ~ Gabrielle]

As the OWS movement has helped move the national dialogue to income inequality, corporate power, and economic justice with its chant of "We are the 99%," we received a request from an old acquaintance of Al Levin, who remembered a short film he did back in the mid Seventies, "THE WAY THE EAGLE SHITS."

He wondered if we could get him a copy of the film so he could show it to his local OCCUPY movement. He felt Al's political rant was prescient and more timely now than ever.

Here it is, Al Levin's "THE WAY THE EAGLE SHITS" - pass it on.




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So...Who IS left On The Other Side of This Issue?

We're guessing the 1%.
Click image to enlarge.
For more information, visit www.justlabelit.org
Please support your local farmer's markets, food co-ops and occupy victory gardens
while pushing the FDA to label these products.





TRC is run solely on donations from patrons via PayPal. If you enjoy TRC's work, please consider donating. Any amount is generous. Receipt will read The Road Home, Inc. Thank you!

TRC News - a new direction

by Gabrielle Price

Considering the amount of social media connections one can make on the internetz, I've decided to let those connections work 'for me' rather than against me in sharing news with readers.

Not only am I a writer and photographer, but a news analyst.  Over the last two years, I have made it my mission to wade through the vast wasteland of US news outlets to pluck out nuggets of truth to share with my readers.  It's a lot like performing an autopsy on US media and then harvesting the good organs that haven't shut down yet.  My research background comes in handy for this task.

My comments on social sites tend to be rather colorful -- my Gonzo comes out often but the new 'timeline' everyone loves to cheer or complain about has its downside.  I can't find a damn thing I posted three weeks ago to connect other stories that have been shared earlier -- which is important for researching in order to help you connect the dots.

That and some seriously golden Gonzo moments are sucked into Facebook's blackhole where I cannot retrieve them.  So, from now on -- I will do my news analysis here on the blog.  It needs more content and I can keep my research and verbal color palette in one place for myself and for my readers.  Win/win!

With Facebook's recent changes and the news that it just purchased the photo sharing company, Instagram -- I have decided to keep all my eggs in TRC's basket -- not Zuckerberg's.

US media is cracking down hard on citizen journalists -- especially when it comes to covering Occupy through the big brother tools of "free" social media.  We all know in this climate that nothing is free.  We either agree to be mined for data, spied upon or do not use social media at all.  OR we use their tools to our advantage.  I have recently changed to open source software for my OS as well as my browser.  I will defend my free speech here with all the tools at my disposal, until they make it impossible to do so.

I hope you'll find this new direction worthwhile and will make TRC a valuable resource for news you can use in the future.  Many thanks to all who support TRC and free speech everywhere.


TRC is run solely on donations from patrons via PayPal. If you enjoy TRC's work, please consider donating. Any amount is generous. Receipt will read The Road Home, Inc. Thank you!

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Occupy Journalism Q n A with TRC's Gabrielle Price

submitted by Gabrielle Jones Price

[This is a question/answer session that I received from an anonymous journalism student from Sweden for Occupy. She gave me permission to share this here for all young, aspiring journalists and budding occupy media teams in the US. I was honored to be asked to participate.]

Why did you decide to pursue a career in Journalism?
I wrote for a school newspaper in Jr. High and was curious about journalism then and after several creative writing courses -- but I didn't actively pursue it until I was well into my 30's -- mostly because it married well with my photography. They say a picture is worth a thousand words but many of the photographs I took at the time were art photos and often, descriptions came with them as a matter of course.

My actual career background is in the administrative field [much of which was correspondence and research]. The people I worked for liked the manner and style of my writing and I was highly praised for my ability as a researcher. After my last administrative job was phased out, I actively pursued photojournalism as a means of sharing information. Being a politically active book nerd, my skills simply led me to journalism. I took the leap with my first blog and received a lot of good feedback. Later, I started a music project which garnered some international attention for my writing and since then, I managed to cross the music writing over into activism. Two things I am very passionate about. This started me down a path of deeper research and intelligence gathering and the study of journalism in history.

In many ways, journalism pursued me. I'm also a Gemini - ruled by Mercury - the sign of communication and information. Many don't put stock in those things, but I can attest to this being a very strong personality trait.

Are you glad that you did? Do you have any regrets?
This is an interesting question seeing as I feel like I had no choice but to write. Like an artist creates, a writer writes. I'm glad my work helps others and in this age of corporate news -- it feels like my duty to continue. I'm honored to witness history as it unfolds and try my best to report factually and objectively -- which was near impossible to do in political writing. The deeper I researched, the more I learned and it became a personal awakening process. For that, I am glad and couldn't regret a thing. It's been as much a spiritual journey as a professional one. Seeking to uncover the truth, by it's very nature, is a spiritual undertaking.

It's impossible to regret growth as a human being -- it is experience that makes the writer, after all. Though there are very few posts written by me on TRC, I like sharing others work. I'm working on a book, building a radio station as well as news videos, which doesn't lend itself well to writing at the moment. There are a lot of great reporters and writers out there and I like to share the ones that impress me.

What successes have you realized as a result of your career choice?
Mostly accolades and the honor of seeing my work alongside some of my personal heroes in the field. Also using my work to help others less fortunate or that do not have a platform. Success is a personal reflection because it is defined differently by an individual rather than what society deems successful. For me personally, I have printed letters and emails framed from other writers and artists I admire -- and met one of them last year who was quite a mentor for me. So I guess I feel my successes are in my growth and the personal connections with like minded people.

This is also a mixed blessing as some writers may not be socially in tune or egotistical which is a turn off. But that's life and all part and parcel of the experience. That doesn't make a person's work any less valuable a contribution. I mean, Hunter Thompson may have been considered an asshole by many -- but his writing put Rolling Stone on the map, in my opinion.

What have been your greatest challenges (or what are your greatest challenges now)
Money. I think most writers would say the same. The corporate media machine and technology has lulled a lot of people into a false sense of what journalism is or should be. It does get a bad rap. I feel that is changing however, so honestly, it's an exciting time to be involved in media as much as it is precarious. There are many who probably couldn't hack it and aside from money, the greatest challenge for me was cutting through my own cognitive dissonance in order to report without mainstream bias. This is much harder than it sounds simply because the mainstream has done it's job well. Being a little 'gonzo' helps.

Hunter Thompson remains one of my favorite writers and he said that it is near impossible for regular people to get good information during wartime. This makes the job of a journalist much harder as well. Meeting and overcoming challenges to deliver honest reporting is pretty much how any journalist worth their salt will keep their integrity and the loyalty of their readers [or viewers]. Even when the political climate makes them fickle...and fickle is being kind. It's a tough audience out there right now.

Are there any "unknown" pieces or aspects of such a career that might be helpful for an outsider to consider?
Be prepared to handle the truth when you find it -- and be prepared to tell it to others thoughtfully. The duty of any journalist is to report what IS -- to the best of their ability with the information available. 'Available' does not mean you don't have to research. Dig until you are satisfied in your own mind and heart that you have discovered something of value to your readers. It is ultimately about them.

Lastly, if you want to improve a thing [your writing, the political landscape, the press] be critical of it. In order for the art of journalism to survive corporate control -- it needs more critics not suck ups. This means you need to have a thick skin and an iron constitution. Journalism is not for the weak of heart. The old saying that the pen is mightier than the sword is true -- words are very powerful things -- wield them with respect for the truth and you will never injure yourself.

Others may get hurt, however -- but if a small few are hurting the 99%, the environment or our democracy -- being critical of them is just helping karma along. It is way past due for a nudge.

Any personal advice or last comments?
Keep a copy of the First Amendment where you write. I recommend watching the movie "Good Night and Good Luck" at least twice to understand why one of the highest awards for American journalism has Edward R. Murrow's name on it. If we were all half as good as he was -- we could mop the floor with MSM here. That time is coming because this economy is seeing major publications laying people off. Citizen press and underground media need to get their foundations established now. There is a window and I'm unsure how long it will be open. Connect with like-minded thinkers, photographers, videographers and not worry about trying to "make it" in a dying corporate media culture. Leave that old cold war corpse to rot...it's time to get on with the business of telling people the truth.

US media is about as useful as a stars and stripes band aid on compound fracture.


TRC is run solely on donations from patrons via PayPal. If you enjoy TRC's work, please consider donating. Any amount is generous. Receipt will read The Road Home, Inc. Thank you!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Guest post : To Undo The Folded Lie

by Phil Rockstroh


A stammered truth is more resonate to the heart than a well-told lie; unfortunately, an habitually dissembling mindset will view the situation in reverse.  All too often, our internalized system of viewing an unfolding event will determine our take on it.  If the institutions (e.g., familial, governmental, mass media) that have influenced our method of perception are themselves compromised by internalized biases, then a type of carnival funhouse mirror effect is in play (both on an individual and culture-wide basis) whereby distortions reflect distortions that, in turn, reflect those distortions…ad infinitum.  Reality is made grotesque, and gross distortions are perceived as reality. 

This is why it is essential to develop a method of viewing that includes the heart, the gut, and all of one's senses.  A lie only fools the mind; in contrast, truth reverberates throughout one's entire being. 

"All I have is a voice / To undo the folded lie." - W.H. Auden

A truthful remembrance will free imprisoned ghosts from their torment (They will be bestowed with heart-felt feeling (i.e., remember their humanity) and therefore be reborn.)--while shallow, self-serving dissembling will raise an army of mindless zombies. 

Only 41% of the population of the U.S. believe in the verifiable reality of global climate chaos.  The institutionalized, thus internalized, lies of the corporate/consumer state -- the usurping of the innate longings of the human heart and replacing them with consumer desires -- have not only left consumerist true believers bereft of the ability to honestly process information but have rendered them unable to locate the source of their own suffering.  It is impossible to sate empty appetite by more empty consumption.  The hollowness at the core of the consumer state can only be remedied by an awakening of the heart. 

How does one take this course of action?  The answer is neither recondite nor inaccessible: by the time honored methods of grief and gratitude.  Fortunately, our lives give us ample opportunity for practice. 

Apropos: Grieve for our abuse of the flora and fauna of this living planet into which we were born, and grieve for the suffering we bring to ourselves by these callous actions…for the abuse and neglect that we inflict upon the earth we heap on ourselves.  As long as we believe it is our birthright to exploit the planet, then we will continue to believe it permissible to ruthlessly exploit one another. 

In short, when we demean the world, we demean ourselves by the same methods.  There is no need for a vengeful god above to punish us for our transgressions…we're doing just fine on our own.  To trudge through life devoid of the warmth bestowed by a compassionate heart, is to divest one's self of soul…to not be fully alive within life.  And that is an awful form of punishment: to construct, in the area within yourself where your heart should be positioned, a dungeon where you have become both the torturer and the tortured--all ordered by a merciless king (your willful mind untempered by the counsel of your heart) who lords over the wasteland of misapprehensions that you have mistaken for the whole of existence.
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Phil Rockstroh is a poet, lyricist and philosopher bard living in New York City. 
He may be contacted at: phil@philrockstroh.com. Visit Phil's website or at FaceBook.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Guest post : Post Racial America / Fact or Fable

by Keith D. Wheeler

The encounter between Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman has polarized the nation. As more and more evidence against George Zimmerman is brought to light, it paints a disturbing picture of what actually happened that sad evening. 

(1) Mr. Zimmerman was instructed by the 911 operator to remain inside and let the police handle it.  He went after Trayvon any way, although Mr. Martin had committed no crime.  He was simply walking through the neighborhood & talking on his cell phone....and he was black. 

(2) The voice heard crying for help on a 911 call just before Trayvon Martin was shot to death was not that of George Zimmerman, according to two forensic voice identification experts, but actually Trayvon Martin. 

(3) Mr. Zimmerman insists that Trayvon Martin attacked him and therefore feared for his life yet, the police video at the station shows no blood, no broken nose and no wounds to the back of his head.  You have to remember that a police report stated that Zimmerman was found at the scene with a bloody nose and a cut on the back of his head.  Zimmerman did not seek medical treatment.  Which brings into question the validity of the police report. 

(4) According to a news report, Sanford Police initially felt they had enough material to arrest George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, but prosecutors were apparently reluctant in quickly making charges. 

(5) George Zimmerman's arrest record of (2) counts of domestic violence & resisting arrest and battery on a police officer demonstrates that he has a history of violence. 

Looking at what has been revealed and suspecting that more is to come, I believe that Mr. Zimmerman will finally be arrested. 

I also believe that during the trial Mr. Zimmerman will use a diminished capacity defense and that will be propped up by some xenophobic world view. 

After all, young black men are scary....even when they are unarmed, just talking on a cell phone, committing no crime whatsoever.  In conclusion, had this been a white, unarmed teenager and the shooter had been a black male... 

So much for the post racial American society we "think" we live in.



Mr. K. D. Wheeler is a 20 year veteran in the protective services industry, a former bail enforcement agent, private investigator, and former United States Marine.  He was interviewed previously for TRC in March of 2011 regarding personal security.  You can find that post here. Keith passed away from a heart anomaly on August 11th, 2016. #RIP Marine. Oorah. 

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Peak Oil and US Media Denial / Time Covers for April

Exhibit A: the next European cover of TIME, April 9th, 2012

Exhibit B: the next US cover of TIME, April 9th, 2012

...One of these things is not like the other...
Ask yourself: why the US media believes its citizens don't need to know about peak oil?